Health

5 tomato health benefits plus 6 tasty tomato recipes

Health

5 tomato health benefits plus 6 tasty tomato recipes

There's no denying that it's tomato harvest season. Every time I go to the garden, I come back with a bag full of white, red, black and yellow tomatoes. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. These tomatoes are some of the tastiest I've ever eaten. Seeing as I can't share some with you for a little taste, I am posting a photo of some of this morning's harvest. You'll also see a little baby green pepper and a few fish peppers (they're only a little spicy). We all are enjoying an abundance of local tomatoes this time of year, and you know what? It's a good thing. Tomatoes are one of the healthiest foods you can eat!
Read on for 5 tomato health benefits. [caption id="attachment_1885" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Tomatoes for breakfast, lunch and dinner ..."]
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5 tomato health benefits1. Tomatoes contain
lycopene - a phytonutrient believed to have cancer fighting benefits. Lycopene has been proven to play a role in preventing colorectal, prostate, breast, endometrial, lung and pancreatic cancers. It can also help prevent heart disease. According to
WHFoods, organic tomatoes and ketchup deliver a substantially more lypcopene than their non-organic counterparts.
2. One cup of tomatoes deliver almost 58 per cent of the daily recommended amount of
vitamin C. This vitamin helps your body fight infection, increase your iron absorption, maintain the health of your connective tissues, improve your skin, and reduce stress.
3. Tomatoes also contain a good amount of
vitamin A, helping your skin, eyes and immune system stay healthy.
4. They're a good source of
fibre, keeping your cholesterol and blood sugar levels in check.
5. They also contain
vitamin K, which help maintain the strength of your bones.
Did you know • Phytonutrient means plant nutrient • Lycopene helps give tomatoes (and watermelon) their red colour • Tomatoes are native to South America • They're a fruit • 130 million tons (!) of tomatoes were produced worldwide in 2008 • China is the largest tomato producer • There are about 7500 varieties of tomato • You're not supposed to store tomatoes in the fridge (they lose their flavour AND nutritional value) • The heaviest tomato ever grown was close to eight pounds
6 tasty tomato recipes If you have a bumper crop of tomatoes (or you just love them to death), you're most likely trying to figure out what to do with them. Here are some delicious options:
1. Baked Tomatoes2.Golden Gazpacho3.Just-Like-Momma's Pasta Sauce4. Canned Tomatoes5. Tomato Salad with Crushed Croutons (from Smitten Kitchen)
6.Tomato Basil Cream Pasta (from Oh She Glows) Pass me the tomatoes!!
Do you love tomatoes? What's your fave way to eat them?

#FridayFive: Madonna on Carpool Karaoke, holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed and more fun things to do this weekend

Culture & Entertainment

#FridayFive: Madonna on Carpool Karaoke, holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed and more fun things to do this weekend

Do
Check out the cutest holiday gift ideas for the pet-obsessed person in your life.

SeeGord Downie's emotional reaction when the Assembly of First Nations honours him with an Indigenous spirit name, Wicapi Omani (meaning "man who walks among the stars") for his reconciliation efforts.

WatchManchester By The Sea. It's an emotional drama starring Michelle Williams and Casey Affleck, about a man who becomes the guardian of a 16-year-old after the child's father dies.

Read
Joseph Boyden's novella Wenjack—the tragic story of an Objibwe boy who runs away from his residential school.

Hear
Madonna sings some classics, vogues and kisses-and-tells about locking lips with Michael Jackson when she joins James Corden for the latest "Carpool Karaoke."

Sleep

9 easy ways to get more—and better!—sleep

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Arianna Huffington says the key to health, happiness, success and even economic prosperity is simple: everyone needs to sleep more. Sounds great, but how do we actually make it happen? Here are her best tips.

Self-described "sleep evangelist" Arianna Huffington comes by her obsession with rest honestly: in April 2007, after an exhausting trip spent touring prospective colleges with her daughter, Christina, during the day and frantically catching up on emails at night, she collapsed in her office. When she woke up hours later, she had a broken cheekbone and no idea what was wrong with her. After trekking from doctor to doctor trying to find out, the answer was both reassuring (she wasn't suffering from a scary disease) and not (she was burnt out, sleep deprived—essentially, making herself ill). Unsurprisingly, she quickly began taking sleep seriously. So seriously, in fact, that she threw herself into research—which turned into a book, The Sleep Revolution, released earlier this year—and started telling everyone what she learned. (We weren't joking about the "sleep evangelist" thing.) We chatted with Huffington about why women should carve out time for rest, how to get high-quality sleep and what to do when you fall back into old habits. Here's what she said.

1. Forget work-life balance. There's no such thing, according to Huffington. "Realistically, life is never balanced; we have a sick toddler one night, a big deadline the other night. For me, it's all about work-life integration, and bringing joy as well as productivity to everything we do," she says. "And I feel women need to realize that what they tell us on airplanes is the truth: put your own oxygen mask on first." Meaning: you can't take care of anyone else if you don't take care of yourself, first.

2. Do less binge-watching. Huffington doesn't buy the idea that there just aren't enough hours in the day to work, parent, exercise, socialize and sleep, too. "We all have more discretionary time than we acknowledge," she says. "You know, somebody's watching House of Cards [right now]. I've only seen one episode. I love the show; I would love to see the rest of it. But you know what? If something has to give, it's going to be House of Cards."

3. Ditch the tech. Speaking of binge-watching… You've probably heard this before, but chances are you didn't listen, so it bears repeating: ban devices from your bedroom. "Before I go to sleep, I power down all my devices and gently escort them out of my bedroom," Huffington says. "Once I get into bed, I only read physical books. And always books that have nothing to do with work—poetry, novels. I don't read anything on-screen, and I never watch TV just before I'm going to sleep."

4. Develop a bedtime routine. "The most important thing is to have a transition to sleep," Huffington says. "I think the biggest mistake we make in modern life is we have no transition. We can be on our smartphones, answering emails, texting until the last moment, and then turn off the light and go to sleep. That doesn't work." Huffington's ritual starts 30 minutes before she wants to go to sleep. That's when she powers down her phone, tablet and laptop, turns off all the lights and has a hot bath. If 30 minutes feels like too much time, start with five minutes, she advises.

5. Be consistent—even when you're travelling. Whether you're going out of town for work or play, it's important to keep up your bedtime routine. To make it easier, Huffington always packs an eye mask, noise-cancelling headphones, a candle (to give the space a homey vibe) and masking tape (to cover up all those annoying blinking lights). "You have to get organized," she says. "But once you do, and you realize what a benefit it brings you, it's not difficult. It only takes five minutes to cover the lights and put the temperature down; it's not like these things are time consuming."

6. Buy new PJs. Huffington says whatever you wear to bed should only be worn to bed. "After my bath, I get in my nice PJs. But it could even be a special t-shirt, as long as it's something I only wear to sleep," she says. "I used to sleep in my gym clothes, but that sends your brain confusing, conflicting messages: are we going to the gym or are lying down?"

7. Say no sometimes. We're all busy, but Huffington says it's important not to give into the temptation to over-schedule. "I so dislike the person I become when I'm sleep deprived: more irritable, more reactive, less and less present with less joy in my life," she says. But acknowledging the consequences of skimping on sleep makes it easier for her to prioritize. Take, for example, a recent evening when she unexpectedly ran into close friends: "I would have loved to go to dinner with them, but I had a very early start this morning, so I didn't. And when I say that to you, you may think it sounds like a sacrifice, but it doesn't to me anymore."

8. Don't worry about falling off the sleep bandwagon. Everyone slips up sometimes, even Huffington. "I'm a work in progress. But you know, I don't think anyone, even somebody who talks about this as much as I do, would do this perfectly. For me, the most important thing is to course correct quickly."

9. Have a plan of attack for insomnia.The Sleep Revolution has an entire chapter devoted to sleep best practices: make sure your room is dark and cool, get enough physical activity, don't drink coffee or alcohol too close to bedtime… but even the most dedicated sleeper will sometimes have a sleepless night. Instead of getting stressed about it, though, Huffington's advice is to meditate. In the book, she writes, "Since we find it harder and harder to retreat into ourselves in the middle of our busy days, the retreat in the middle of the night—whether through sleep or meditation—can be reframed as a precious luxury. This certainly didn't come easily to me. But I was able to train myself to see the time spent meditating in the middle of the night as productive and enriching instead of lying awake in bed resenting the fact that I was wasting my time lying awake in bed."

Spent the night tossing and turning? Here's how to recover from a bad sleep.

Relationships

4 tips for making new friendships

Relationships

4 tips for making new friendships

Research shows that we all benefit from social interaction—even introverts. It's natural to want to cozy up at home and enjoy some alone time, but you can have too much of a good thing. "New research shows that everyone needs social contact, not just those who are outgoing and socially at ease," says Montreal psychologist Dr. Susan Pinker. "Introverts need to be in contact with others, too, though they may need to be with fewer people at a time and they may need to be in control of when and how much social contact they get."

In a study released in 2015, U.S. researchers found that social isolation and living alone increase mortality risk by 29 percent and 32 percent, respectively, which means even those who say they are alone and happy are at increased risk. The takeaway? Don't be afraid to brave the weekend crowds from time to time. It could extend your life.Four tips for making new connections

1. Build social contact into every day Make regular social commitments: scheduling a biweekly lunch with a friend, participating in a sport, signing up for a class or volunteering. "Going to the same place at the same time every week ensures you'll find other people doing exactly the same thing," says Montreal psychologist Dr. Susan Pinker. "Soon enough, they'll be part of your village."2. Use technology to be social, not antisocial We're increasingly using our personal devices to communicate without leaving the house. Texting and messaging, as well as dating apps like Tinder, make us virtually invisible. "Use your digital devices to make plans to see people for genuine social interaction," says Dr. Pinker. "Don't use your devices to replace face-to-face contact, or you will feel lonelier than you did before."

3. Have reasonable expectations Seeking new connections and friendships is a great strategy, but University of Chicago psychology professor John T. Cacioppo recommends taking it slow. "Don't focus on finding the love of your life or reinventing yourself all at once," he says. Volunteer activities, such as helping out at an animal shelter or coaching a kids" soccer team, will elicit the most positive outcome. "You may begin to feel positive sensations that can reinforce your desire to change while also building confidence."4. Don't overextend yourself "Committing to doing too many things for too many people in an effort to open ourselves up to connection can make us feel overworked and stressed out," says Cacioppo. "The whole point is to be available to the common bond of humanity." Have a realistic perception of how much you can take on along with your other daily commitments.